South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's nomination to head the Department of Homeland Security was hailed by law and order advocates and southern border officials as she prepares to face a confirmation hearing in the Senate on Friday. has been done.
President-elect Trump announced her as his pick on November 12, days after defeating Vice President Harris, who was widely criticized as ineffective at border security under President Biden.
“She is the first governor to deploy the National Guard to help fight the Biden border crisis in Texas, eight times in total,” Trump's transition team said in a statement announcing her nomination. Ta. “She will work closely with 'Border Czar' Tom Homan to secure the border and ensure that the American mainland is safe from enemies.”
President Trump has made fighting immigrant crime a centerpiece of his campaign, an important issue for voters, and Democrats have dismissed the congressional hearings with testimony from victims' families as politically motivated. , was largely ignored.
President Trump selects South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem visits FOX Business Network's “Varney & Company” at the Fox Business Network studios in New York City on May 7, 2024. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
“I think this is a great, great nomination,” Arizona rancher Jim Chilton said. His property straddles the edge of a portion of the border wall.
“Last year, we had three people die on the ranch, two obviously from dehydration and one who was obviously killed by a cartel,” he told Fox News Digital by phone. “One of my cowboys found his body and head severed.”
Five miles of the 50,000-acre property is protected by walls, but thousands of people have crossed his property on the remaining half-mile, which was exposed by incomplete construction, he said. He said more than 5,600 people crossed his property near the end of the fence in April alone.
“The solution is to complete the wall, put Border Patrol agents on the wall, arrest people who try to scale or break through the wall, and stop them from entering the United States without proper documentation.” he told Fox News Digital.
NOEM boasts significant support for DHS Secretary from police and border unions
This photo shows migrants encountered at the southern Arizona border. (U.S. Border Patrol)
He said cartel scouts control the high ground, patrol the mountains above the ranch, monitor Border Patrol agents and relay information to smugglers via satellite and radio.
But authorities have thwarted those efforts whenever possible.
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On September 10, 2024, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D.Y.) is pictured with his head bowed and his eyes closed during Congressional testimony by the mothers of the victims in a murder case where the suspect was an illegal immigrant. It was photographed in (Kathy Groenewald)
“Last month, Border Patrol arrested a group of people on my ranch and they had an AK-47 and 100 pounds of cocaine,” Chilton said. “That's outrageous.”
Hector Garza, a trooper for more than 20 years and president of the National Border Patrol Council Local 2455 in Laredo, said the troopers themselves are looking forward to getting back to work under a supportive White House. .
“We are excited about the new leadership of the Border Patrol,” he told FOX News Digital. “For us as agents, that means border security, and it also means safety.”
He said under the Biden-Harris administration, investigators are suffering from a lack of personnel and equipment.
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Arizona rancher Jim Chilton speaks at the Republican National Convention on July 17, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Seeger)
“The border was open and agents there were busy processing family units and unaccompanied children,” he added. “Meanwhile, all of these dangerous criminals were evading law enforcement, which means many of them entered the United States and are now living in our communities. ”
These threats also include members of the violent transnational gangs MS-13 and Torren de Aragua.
“They are terrorizing their fellow Americans,” Garza said. “We're going to have a very difficult job of undoing everything that the Biden administration has done.”
Hector Garza speaks at a press conference with then-President Trump on January 3, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
But he said he was confident he could get the job done with the support of Trump, Noem, Homan, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott and their allies in Congress.
“President Trump can't do it alone,” he said. “Congress is a very important piece of the puzzle.”
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South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/File)
Noem, who has advocated for stronger border enforcement for more than a decade, vowed to secure the border and “restore safety to American communities, many of which have been plagued by immigrant crime in recent years.” Prior to his election as governor of South Dakota, he served in the House of Representatives and as a state representative.
Shocking killings across the country, including Texas, Maryland, Georgia and Massachusetts, have repeatedly garnered national attention under the Biden-Harris administration.
President Trump invited some of the victims' families to attend his second term inauguration on Monday.
